Toy money boxes come in various forms from the simplest piggy bank which is a housing in some pleasing shape with a slot at the top in which to insert coins and a temporary opening closed by a cap or the like at the bottom or the back through which the money saved can be recovered when required.
An object of the present invention is to provide a toy money box which resembles a slot machine and so provides an added degree of interest.
The full size slot machines are highly complex pieces of machinery and so the toy according to the invention needs to be relatively simple in its construction and operation.
There have been a number of proposals in the past to make toy money boxes in the form of slot machines and examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4261571 and 4504058. Both of these patents, however, show mechanisms which are complex, are difficult to assemble and therefore overall are expensive.
My U.S. Pat. No. 4646159 discloses a design which is simpler and cheaper in its construction. The present invention aims to provide additional amplification of the construction of such a product.
According to the invention in one aspect there is provided a toy money box comprising:
an outer casing, coin inlet formed in said casing,
a money store within said casing into which coins pass when inserted through said coin inlet,
a number of rotatable chance wheels mounted in said casing and arranged to be spun and stopped at random orientations,
indicia carried by said wheels, only certain of said indicia being winning indicia when a respective wheel stops with one of said certain indicia in a winning orientation, whereby when said wheels stop in a winning orientation the resulting array of indicia corresponds to a jackpot position,
means within said casing for determining a jackpot position and releasing stored coins from said money store upon determination of a jackpot position,
a handle pivotally mounted to said casing at an outer surface thereof about an axis of pivoting for setting said wheels spinning, spring loaded fingers mounted in said casing for engaging respective wheels,
said fingers being movable to a loaded position in contact with said wheels whereby their release spins a respective wheel as said finger moves to a retracted rest position,
a clutch mechanism driven by said handle, said clutch mechanism moving said fingers towards said loaded position as said handle is pivoted, continued pivoting of said handle releasing said clutch and said fingers whereby said fingers can then move to said retracted rest position, and said clutch mechanism including a crank pivotally mounted to said casing about said axis of pivoting and including a first arm having an outer end spaced from said axis, a finger integrally formed with said first arm and projecting from said outer end alongside said arm, recess means defined between said finger and said first arm, engagement means projecting from said spring loaded fingers and normally engaged in said recess means, so that pivoting movement of said handle and crank will produce a corresponding pivotal movement of said spring loaded fingers to said loaded position, a stationary abutment on said casing, a forward end of said finger engaging said abutment as said fingers approach said loaded positions, continued pivoting of said handle and said crank causing said abutment to displace said resilient finger to release said engagement means from said recess means.
With such a money box the coins are held in the money store until a winning jackpot is shown when they are automatically released. Preferably there is an additional coin inlet leading to a money storage compartment say in the base of the toy so that some money can be placed in the money store for release as a jackpot and some placed in the money storage compartment for saving.
The provision of the clutch mechanism also has a safety aspect since it ensures that if the toy's operating mechanism becomes jammed, operation of the handle will not damage the mechanism since instead the clutch will release. Thus, the finger will have some inherent flexibility and this finger can be designed to bend and release the clutch before any other part of the mechanism breaks.
In a preferred embodiment, the resilient finger of the toy money box further comprises a cam surface between said finger and said first arm and leading to said recess means, whereby said handle and crank are returned to their initial position after releases of said engagement means from said recess means, said engagement means engage said cam surface and resiliently displace said resilient finger to allow said engagement means to re-enter said recess means.
In another preferred embodiment, said first arm has a first contact surface at its outer end and said casing has contact means contacted by said first contact surface when the handle is in its non-operative position, and said crank further comprising a second arm projecting away from said first arm and having an outer end provided with a second contact surface, said second contact surface being contacted by said contact means on said casing once said handle has been pivoted to a position when said engagement means have released from said recess means, to thereby limit further pivoting movement of said handle.
Also an advantage of the invention is that the clutch mechanism can be made from a one-piece moulded crank which simplifies assembly.
Preferably the base to the money store is hingedly mounted and can hinge downwardly under its own weight when a jackpot prize is given, the base being normally held shut by an arrangement comprising:
an arm integrally formed with said base to said money store, said arm projecting away from said axis of pivoting of base,
a crank pivotally mounted to said casing and resiliently urged about its axis of pivoting in a first direction,
an arcuate cam surface on said crank engaging said arm and locking said arm and base in said normally closed position, and
sensing means pivotally mounted in said casing for engaging said wheels to detect winning orientations of winning indicia, said sensor means being resiliently urged to a second position but stopped at a first position when said wheels are not all stopped in a winning orientation, said sensor means being movable to said second position when a jackpot position is detected, said sensor means engaging said crank when they move to said, second position to displace said crank in a direction opposite to said first direction, to release said arm from said arcuate cam surface to allow said base to hinge open.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a toy money box comprising:
an outer casing, a coin inlet formed in said casing a money store within said casing into which coins pass when inserted into said coin inlet,
a base to said money store hingedly mounted to said casing at the outer surface thereof so as to be movable by hinging downwardly under its own weight between a normally closed position to retain coins in said store and an open jackpot position to release coins from said store,
a number of rotatable chance wheels mounted in said casing and arranged to be spun and stopped at random orientations,
indicia carried by said wheels, only certain of said indicia being winning indicia when a respective wheel stops with one of said certain indicia in a winning orientation, whereby when said wheels stop in a winning orientation the resulting array of indicia corresponds to movement of said base to said jackpot position, an arm integrally formed with said base to said money store, said arm projecting away from said axis of pivoting of base,
a crank pivotally mounted to said casing and resiliently urged about its axis of pivoting in a first direction,
an arcuate cam surface on said crank engaging said ar and locking said arm and base in said normally closed position, and
sensing means pivotally mounted in said casing for engaging said wheels to detect winning orientations of winning indicia, said sensor means being resiliently urged to a second position but stopped at a first position when said wheels are not all stopped in a winning orientation, said sensor means being movable to said second position when a jackpot position is detected, said sensor means engaging said crank when they move to said, second position to displace said crank in a direction opposite to said first direction, to release said arm from said arcuate cam surface to allow said base to hinge open.
Such an arrangement has advantages of simplicity of construction and assembly.